The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)

The pursuit of pleasure:
For many of us, work is just an irritating
necessity of life. What really motivates us is avoiding pain, and finding
as much pleasure as possible in our time outside work. The pleasures
we pursue can take various forms—sex, stimulants, entertainment,
eating, shopping, gambling, technological fads, games of all sorts.
No matter the objects of the pursuit, they tend to lead to a dynamic
of diminishing returns. The moments of pleasure we get tend to get
duller through repetition. We need either more and more of the same
or constantly new diversions. Our need often turns into an addiction,
and with the dependency comes a diminishing of health and mental
powers. We become possessed by the objects we crave and lose
ourselves. Under the influence of drugs or alcohol, for instance, we can
temporarily feel transported beyond the banality of our lives.
This form of false purpose is very common in the world today,
largely because of the cornucopia of distractions we can choose from.
But it goes against a basic element of human nature: to have deeper
levels of pleasure, we have to learn to limit ourselves. Reading a variety
of books for entertainment, in rapid succession, leads to a diminishing

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sense of satisfaction with each book; our minds are overwhelmed and
overstimulated; and we must reach for a new one right away. Reading
one excellent book and absorbing ourselves in it has a relaxing and
uplifting effect as we discover hidden riches within it. In the moments
when we are not reading, we think of the book again and again.
All of us require pleasurable moments outside work, ways to relieve
our tension. But when we operate with a sense of purpose, we know the
value of limiting ourselves, opting for depth of experience rather than
overstimulation.